Always On: Future trends in personalized health

Always On: Future trends in personalized health

The latest tech trends, including health apps and wearable tech gadgets. It's all about the quantified self, the idea that you can gather data about your health, habits, and history.

-So, here I have my 23andMe Genetic Testing Kit and I am going to take a plunge on camera and just like find out all about me.
I'm such a [unk] spit, [unk] because I love that, though, I mean, really, like this is what it takes to get a full genetic profile.
Not so
bad.
So, all I do is mail off that little box of spit and wait for a full report on my genetic history, ancestry and potential diseases.
That would have been unthinkable just a decade ago and it's just one example of how your health is getting more personalized everyday, whether it's a wrist band that tracks your calories.
-It's got 5 LEDs on it.
So, if you tap it, it actually tells you your progress against your goal but what's also important about it is that it uses Bluetooth 4.0, so it wirelessly syncs in the background
to smart phones.
-A toothbrush, an app that measures your brushing habits or even a fork that makes you eat more slowly.
-The Demo Fork that we have here has been preprogrammed on a ten-second interval.
And it basically means that if I'm putting food in my mouth under ten seconds, it will vibrate.
-Too soon, too soon.
-The tech is enabling a trend that some called the quantified self.
The idea that you can gather data about your health, your habits and your history.
The benefits can
be far reaching with more accurate aggregated data, doctors could provide better care.
Even possibly preventing more serious diseases like cancer and diabetes.
I visited Paris-based Withings where the company's internet enables scale lets you keep track of your weight, share the information with your phone and create a database of your behavior.
-So, what you see, now, my weight in the scale and in some second it will receive a push on my iPhone,
-Okay.
-and will
indicate this measurement 'cause this scale can work both in WiFi and Bluetooth.
-Okay.
-So, this is the last measurement they made, 75 something [unk], and so it will be the tool to measure.
-Oh, wow.
-They've also built a phone app that connects to a blood pressure cough.
-You just connect it on the iPhone.
-Oh, that's cool.
And it starts automatically the application.
-Uh-hmm.
-And then you just press
start button and it will start the measurement.
-That's awesome.
It's pretty high.
-Probably because you are not sitting in somewhere and because you are --
-And go on.
-And so, it's not just the monitoring.
It's the fact that once you have all of the data in one place, you can see patterns--
-Yes, yes.
-and you can-- yeah.
-And you can share with your-- you can share it with your doctor.
-Right.
-Now, we've seen plenty of heart rate monitors but here's an app that detects your heart rate using your phone's
camera.
This one comes from Azumio.
Here's how it works.
When the heart beats, blood is pumping to your face which causes it to change color.
The camera can pick up this information and actually determine your pulse.
-You just hold it, you know, hand like this distance.
-Okay.
-Center your face and just dab the center of the skin.
Now, this should take around 15 seconds to get a measurement.
Your heart rate is [unk].
-I [unk] to 94 when I first got here I was like, it's you.
-Yeah, maybe.
-Or the
flu.
-After going through a few of these technologies, I realized I might need to watch my blood pressure and maybe even my heart rate, then of course, there's the genetic testing I did with 23andMe, which could tell me if I'm at risk for things like diabetes or even cancer.
There can be downsides to knowing all about your health but hey, at least you know.